Safety belt



July 23, 1929. c. F. JAczoEas- SAFETY BELT Filed April '18, 1927 CTL Patente July 23, l29.

llZlSlli CHARLES F. JACOBS, OF VALPARAISO, INDIANA.

SAFETY BEL'IL.y

Application filed April 18,

My invention relates to safety belts Y.tor use by line'men working on telephone poles, aerial structures1 and the like.

An object ot the invent-ion is to provide a sal'ety belt or strap for holding the lineman on the pole in the event of an accident7 thereby preventing him :trom losing his balance and dropping to the ground.

At the present time` a tool belt is provided to encircle the body ot the lineman and a safety strap is lthen adapted to be burltled thereto` which may extend about the pole to allow the lineman to lean outwardlyr` with his 'feet spurred into the pole to balance himself. In this position, the linei'nan may perform such repairs an are required on the pole7 but his connection must all-.inv i'reedoui to permit him to reach outwardly to work on wires and cross-beams attachcal to the pole. Such freedom should allow working at a distance from the pole so as to move with sa'tety about the wires without danger of being.electrocuted Quite often, however, Alinemen will come into contact with exposed line wires of high voltages and the shock will be suiicient to render them unccosciente7 thereby causing their feet. to be released from against the pole and their balance or support lost. The result is that their weighton the strap .is relaxed and this strap then loosely encircles the pole and allows the linemen to drop. lt has been found that such a drop is more apt to kill the linen'ian while unconscious. Records show that. a. relatively large nuniber oit men are seriously injured or killed each year by dropping to the ground, as the result ot losing their oaiance, either by coming into contact with etiposed high voltage lines or by other inishaps, and by the saliety strap breaking.

One of the principal objectsl ot my' invention is the provision or an aurnliary securing means adapted to secure the safety strap to the pole so that in the event the lineman loses his balance by Contact with live wires or by his feet slipping7 it is impossible lor him to drop.

More.spccilically, my invention provides an auxiliary securing means in the form oi? a strap attached to, or otherwise carried by the safety strap, and of a size capable, ol5 be ing strapped about the pole so as to prevent the safety strap from being carried downwardly along` the pole in the event the weight 1927. Serial N0. 184,586'.

olf the lineman on the strap is relaxed and resultant 'trictional binding engagement ot the strap about this pole is rel-eased.

A further object et my invention is to pro vide an auxiliary saloty strap ot the above type, which will hold the. lineman to the pole7 in the event the satety strap7 which encircles Athe pole, should failv by breaking or its snaps unhucltiing.

ri still further object oit my invention resides in attaching the auxiliary strap to the saiety strap,l iu 'adjustable relation. whereby the linemen will have a certain latitude of movement while held thereby.

Other objects and advantages ol my invention will be apparent trom the detailed specification and aeconipanying drawings torming a part hereol in which:

Figure l a perspective view of a lineman supporting himselli on a pole;

2 is a plan view 0fasaliety strap 'embodying my invention;

Fi y i s a detailed view of a portion thereol illustrating a modilied form ot my invention:

l? ig. lf is a vertical sectional view taken on line l1-#l ot Figure 3;

- Fie..v 5 is another nioditiedlorm ot my invention:

Fig o is a. further modified form ot' my invention: and

f Fig. 7 also shows a modified term oit my invention.

l'lf'hile shall desribe several alternative terms-ot my invention, it will beremeinbered that l do not intend to limit myself toiany specific construction inasmuch as the invention relates broadly to the, provision of an auxiliary safety device adapted to be used in conjunction with a linemans safety strap for holding the strap secured to the pole to prevent the lineman .from dropping in the event ol" an accident. i

ln the drawings it will be observed that the usual body belt 5 is provided to encircle the lineman about the waist, this belt having loops (i securely attached thereto at its ends and the end portions 'l' and S furnished with an adjustable buckle 9 permitting'attach-- mentol belt 5 to the body. Y

In connection with belt 5 there is provided a ea'lfety strap l() adapted to encircle the pole, as illustrated in Fig. l,y and connected to the ends oit belt 5 bysnaps ll adapted to be hooked into buckles 6. Safety strap 10 is also adjustable at 12 to vary the distance the. lineman may lean outwardly from the pole 14. Y

My invention contemplates providing an auxiliary safety strap 15 attached to t-he strap 10 intermediate its ends, as illustrated in Figure 2, and of a length permitting it to encircle the pole and to be fastened by means of a buckle 16. It will Vbe observed that the end 1T of strap 15 is furnished with a pluralityY of openings 1S to permit attachment of the belt whereby to encircle poles of various diameters.

It is also customary for these poles t taper from the bottom to the top, and consequently, it is liighly desirable that this strap 15 be adjustable, so that it may be attached at any point along the pole.

Those skilled in the art are aware of the fact that linemen are provided with spurs 2O which are strapped to their legs and extending .outwardly from their feet to permit spurringl into the pole. By means of these spurs 20, a lineman is able to lean outwardly from the pole against the strap 1.0, so as to be in a position to make repairs or otherwise work on the line, as illustrated in Figure 1.

It is by the balancing effect that is obtained by the feet being secured to the pele and the strap encircling` the same that the lineman is able to obtain his balance while working. It is apparent, however, that in the event of receiving a shock from high voltage wires. to which he is constantly eX- posed, his body will relax and his feet be freed from the pole whereby, if the safety strap 15 were not provided, the strap 10 would allow him to drop to the ground. By the. provision of the auxiliary safety strap 15 it is impossible for the lineman to drop in the event of an accident of this kind. On the other hand, there is danger of the snaps 11 giving way. or the strap 10 breaking at either end. In either case the auxiliary safety strap 15 will hold the lineman tothe pole until he is able to receive assistance.

In the modified form shown in Figure 3 the safety strap 10 is adjustable with respect to the auxiliary safety strap 15. Connecting members 21 encircle both straps 10 and 15. being rigidly attache/dto the strap 10 by means of rivets Q2. These connecting` ment bers will, therefore. move with the strap 10 so as toallow the lineman when supported on the pole to move about with considerable ease. A. stop 23 is provided on one end of the strap 15 to prevent the latter from being pulled free from connecting members 21.

In Figure 5 I have illustrated a still further modified form of my invention. In this case the strap is slightly enlarged at Q4 and slotted at 25 to allow the auxiliary strap to pass therethrough. This fornr also provides relative adjustment between straps 10 and the auxiliary safety strap 15.

rIhe form shown in Figure 6 provides the auxiliary safety strap l5 in the form of two pieces 3() and 3l, which may be suitably secured. as by stitching or riveting, to strap 10. IVhile I have not shown the auxiliary safety device as beingadjustable with respect to the safety strap 10, in this form, yet it may be so provided if desired. The advantage to be obtained, however, in this arrangement is lightness and economy, as the device 15 is not extended the entire dist-ance about the looped portion of strap 10.

In Fig. 7 the auxiliary safety strap 15 encircles the post 14. while the safety strap 10 is formed in two pieces and suitably secured to strap 15 at 35, as by stitching er riveting.

In the various forms disclosed herein, the safety device 15 will function te hold the lineman against falling, should the snaps 11 or buckles 6 fail, er should one end of strap 10 break.

Various modifications of the structure as herein shown may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my inven tion.

I claim:

1. An article of the class described comprising a body belt, a safety strap adapted for attachment to said body belt and for loosely encircling a post er the like, and an auxiliary safety device attached to and carried by said safety strap for securing the latter to and against slipping along said post.

2. An article of the class described comprising a strap adapted to encircle a pest to support an object when the weight thereof is placed on the strap whereby to bindingly the strap against the post, and an auxiliary safety strap secured to said first strap for securing the latter to the-post whereby to prevent accidental slipping therealong when the weight of the object is released from said first strap.

3. An article of the class described com-- prising a strap for holding an object to a pest when suspended outwardly therefrom. and an auxiliary device attached to said strap for securing said strap to the post, whereby to prevent accidental slipping therealong, when theweight of the object. is released from said strap.

4. An article of the class described comprising a strap detachably connected to the body of a person for holding the latter suspended from a post or the like, and an auxiliary safety device attached to said strap for securing said' strap to the pest, said device being so attached to said strap as to permit relative adjustment therebetween.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

CHARLES F. JACOBS.

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